The invention relates generally to control and management systems and, more particularly, to a system for use in an automobile which facilitates the user""s control and management of various vehicle functions.
The concept of an automated highway system (AHS) has been fervently pursued. Although the interpretation of the AHS concept varies from one person to another, people implementing the concept are incorporating more and more technology into an automobile to improve its operations, better its safety measures, and add conveniences to the vehicle user.
A prevalent interpretation of the AHS concept is hands-free driving. To that end, magnets have been buried along an experimental automated highway, and automobiles have been equipped with magnetometers to sense the magnets to guide the moving vehicles, thereby obviating manual steering. In another approach, an automobile is equipped with a video system in which cameras monitor different segments of the road ahead and feed images to on-board computers that control steering, acceleration and braking of the vehicle.
Although the above hands-free driving systems are at various stages of development and will be made available to the public in years to come, a less comprehensive system known as an xe2x80x9cadaptive cruise control systemxe2x80x9d will soon be publicly available. This system is capable of adjusting a vehicle""s speed to keep it moving with the flow of traffic. Specifically, it relies on radar or infrared sensors to measure the distance to the vehicle just ahead. If the vehicle ahead speeds up or slows down, an onboard computer adjusts the throttle or brakes to maintain a safe distance.
Although the ultimate AHS is in the works, it is believed that the building blocks therefor are in place. These building blocks include the well-known xe2x80x9cdrive-by-wirexe2x80x9d system, TRAXXAR stability control system, global positioning satellite (GPS) navigation system, etc. The drive-by-wire system refers to a throttle system responsive to electrical control signals to adjust the speed of a vehicle, and plays a major role in the aforementioned adaptive cruise control system.
In the TRAXXAR system, sensors are used to measure the steering wheel position, yaw rate and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. These sensors work with an onboard computer to controllably apply brakes at selected wheels to avoid potential skids.
In a well-known manner, the GPS navigation system receives signals from a constellation of satellites. In response to such signals, the navigation system pinpoints the vehicle""s location (in latitude and longitude). It also detects the vehicle""s speed and direction. With geographic information stored on an onboard computer, the navigation system is capable of verbally and visually communicating to the user instructions for reaching the destination.
Today""s automobiles are commonly equipped with an anti-lock brake system (ABS), a cruise control system, a climate control system, a compact disk (CD) player, a radio receiver, an audiovisual system, a restraint system, an air bag system, a cellular communication system, a car alarm system, and so on and so forth. The users are-overwhelmed and confused with a large number of knobs, switches and buttons used to control the discrete functions of the individual systems. We have recognized that as more and more systems are being incorporated into an automobile to implement the AHS concept, the management of the systems will be more unwieldy than ever.
The invention overcomes the prior art limitations by employing a master interface to manage system functions in a vehicle. In accordance with the invention, a plurality of items are exhibited on a display in the master interface. Each item represents a respective one of the systems in the vehicle. The exhibited items are arranged on the display in substantially the same relation to one another as the systems represented thereby in the vehicle. At least one of the items can be selected using an indicator device (e.g., a mouse). The system represented by the selected item can be operated to realize the functions associated therewith.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention that the master interface for controlling the system functions is simple and well organized, as opposed to using the large number of knobs, switches and buttons to control same as in the prior art.
It is another object of the invention that the master interface centralizes the system functions so that the user can focus on a single interface while driving, rather than being distracted by the large number of knobs, switches and buttons used in the prior art, which are dispersed throughout the vehicle.
It is yet another object of the invention that the access to the system functions through the master interface is intuitive and direct so that a user who is not familiar with the vehicle can instantly learn to manage such functions.
The master interface is connected to a central processor in accordance with a system architecture wherein the central processor also connects traditionally unrelated vehicle systems together. With such an architecture, the central processor can coordinate the actions of the connected systems to realize synergistic functions such as smart driving, automatic parking, etc.